| Sculpture Information | |
|---|---|
| Completion | August 2022 |
| Exhibition | Swell Sculpture Festival 2022 (Smalls Gallery), Brisbane Grammar Art Show 2022 |
| Dimensions | 460mm (h) x 300mm (h) x 300mm (d) |
| Materials | Aluminium, Blue-tinted Glass, Birch Timber |
| Status | Private Collection, Brisbane |
| Authenticity | Digital Authenticity Certificate |
I made Vortex II alongside the larger Vortex for the 2022 Swell Sculpture Festival. Swell runs two competitions: large works on the beach, and small works in a gallery context. This was the gallery piece.
The form is the same as Vortex. Fifty-six individual aluminium sheets, 5mm thick, stacked and rotated around a central axis to create a continuous spiral. But where the large version stands two metres tall with sheets spaced wide, Vortex II compresses the geometry into a tighter form. The sheets sit just 5mm apart, creating a denser, more aggressive oscillation.
This makes it heavier despite being smaller. The aluminium mass is concentrated. At 460mm tall, it weighs more per metre than its larger counterpart. That density changes how the light behaves. Instead of fragmenting sky and horizon, Vortex II creates a strobing effect as you move around it. The tight spacing means reflections overlap and interfere with each other, producing a kinetic quality even though nothing is moving.
The base is birch timber with blue-tinted glass inlays. The glass steps down through the timber in layers, creating the visual of a beach sloping into ocean. Natural grain meets blue depth. The timber provides structural weight, the glass carries the water reference through to the foundation. The spiral emerges from water, literally and conceptually.
The materials are raw aluminium with polished edges, mounted on this composite base. No anodising, no stain. The contrast between organic timber, transparent glass, and industrial metal layers the reading. You see growth, depth, and reflection in a single object.
I exhibited both Vortex works at Swell simultaneously. The large work on the beach, the small work in the gallery. Two expressions of the same idea, each responding to its context. The beach piece needed scale to register against ocean and sky. The gallery piece needed precision to hold attention at close range.
Vortex II sold later that year at the Brisbane Grammar Art Show. It's now in a private collection in Brisbane.
The compression taught me something about the form. When you tighten a spiral, it doesn't just get smaller. It changes behaviour. The oscillation becomes more pronounced. The reflection becomes more fractured. The same mathematics, different outcomes. That's what metamorphosis looks like.
Detail Images
Gallery Images
